I’ve been a repeat guest at the Magnolia Inn many times over the years. The home-away-from -home atmosphere makes one’s stay one of genuine comfort and charm. The Hosts are wonderfully welcoming, taking great care to ensure their guests experience the ultimate in hospitality.  The guest rooms are tastefully decorated and provide a sense of serenity that, combined with cordiality of the Hosts, will make your stay a memorable one

Christopher Shields

I will always treasure my extended stay at the Magnolia Inn.  From the moment I arrived, I felt not just like a welcome guest, but like a treasured member of the family.  Not only were the accommodations fabulous, but I was even allowed to help with household chores like cooking dinners and painting the bathroom!  The hosts of this incredible establishment were warm and friendly individuals with delightful personalities and fascinating stories to share.  I enjoyed many late nights visiting with them, and feel blessed to have spent time with them.  The Magnolia Inn is a special place, and I look forward to returning again and again

Steve Billups

My stays at the legendary and nationally famous (though only to a few) Magnolia Inn have been pillars of fond (and sometimes dramatic) memories with family.  It was here that I got lost in the woods with Clark and JonMichael on an infamous adventure in which I was certain I’d be lost forever, and here that I became “good” at pool.  The hospitality and fun environment of the Magnolia Inn have always been its strengths.  

Some of my favorite memories include the Eagle Scouts (yes all of us) trying and failing to get a fire going in the backyard.  And that time Clark kept pushing old fashioneds into my hand followed by Tia asking me to say the thanksgiving blessing (at the time it was the most drunk I’d ever been).

There have been friends and even family who have come and gone (God Bless the soul of Fred Billups and Margo).  But the Magnolia Inn has always been a pillar of the community that this Billups family has worked so hard to cultivate.

It’s mere presence represents to me: not only the many good times and bonds we have shared together within its walls, but the unity of this family, compiled of such diverse people and personalities, all determined to continue to love one another in the ways we know how.

Josh Billups

My first visit to the Magnolia Inn was in 1993, when I visited with a guy I had recently started dating. I was struck by the beauty and charm of the estate, especially the front sitting room, known locally as “Comfort Room.” I had been warned that the Innkeeper was … nontraditional … in her hospitality style, in a way my date did not seem to embrace. Yet on arrival, her friendly and energetic greeting seemed warm and welcoming. I must say, though, that I was caught off guard when what I thought was a tour of the newly-installed terraza turned into an interrogation about my long-term intentions with my date. This was quite a forward approach that challenged my midwestern culture of personal privacy, especially her resistance to my response of having no intentions of any sort. Especially not the sort she seemed so keen to evoke. She let it drop eventually, though. And maybe she knew something I didn’t, after all, because my next stay was with that same guy… who by then was my husband.

Sarah Billups